Preached at Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Atlanta, Ga. Reading: Matthew 23:29-36 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You build granite tombs for your prophets and marble monuments for your saints. And you say that if you had lived in the days of your
Preached at Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Atlanta, Ga. Reading: Matthew 15:10-28 The story of the Canaanite woman is significant on several levels: It represents one of only two times that Jesus leaves Jewish territory — and it signifies the expansion of Jesus’ ministry beyond his
Preached at Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Atlanta, Ga. Reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The Parable of the Sower The Gospel reading for today centers on what is known as the Parable of the Weeds. In the Gospel of Matthew, it follows what is known as the
Before we put away the decorations and crèches used in the Christmas and Epiphany celebrations that are taking place around the world, there’s one more episode in the stories surrounding these holidays that’s often glossed over too quickly. Whether any or all of these stories
His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus. Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep
What is a eunuch ‘by birth’? A curious, enigmatic, debated, and often dismissed, verse is found in the 19th chapter of the New Testament’s Gospel of Matthew. Some scholars for the past 40 years or so have argued that it includes a reference to men
Jesus and homosexuality: A lens It’s common for more progressive Christians to defend LGBTQ+ people by saying that Jesus said nothing about homosexuality. But is that true, if we’re referring to the versions of Jesus that have made it down to us in the collections
We have all heard the fundamentalist sound-bite, “It was ‘Adam and Eve,’ not ‘Adam and Steve.’” This saying is shorthand for identifying that the speaker is a believer in the doctrine of the Natural Order of Creation. Just what is this doctrine, and does it
The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. But those who have doubts are condemned if they eat, because they do not act from faith; for
Living in the present: Only the present moment is real Only the present moment is real and available to us. The peace we desire is not in some distant future, but it is something we can realize in the present moment. (Thich Nhat Hahn, Interbeing: